Why?

Hospice

Hospice can be a scary word. It’s less scary when it’s a conversation between friends who are sharing brandy old fashioned recipes, discussing Nespresso as self care, and musing about how a “stalking” created a lifelong bond. In this episode of #dead, Jennifer Prescott, RN, MSN, CDP shares the experiences that led her to craft a career and build businesses rooted in her passion for caring for older adults through end of life. Recorded in January while Bluewater Hospice was still gestating, today we are celebrating the birth of Bluewater Hospice into the greater Austin area and Jen's role as  Amy Wright & Co.’s Clinical Director with an episode that addresses the benefits of hospice, clears up some myths, and sheds some light on what families should expect from the Medicare hospice benefit and a great hospice provider.

Terminal

Amy Ackley should have been dead three years ago. In 2014, she was 33, married with a young family, worked full time as a medical device sales rep and managed her horse farm and farrier business. Then, she was diagnosed with De Novo Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, with metastasis to her spine, chest wall, liver, pelvis & femur.  Several years later, she was also diagnosed with brain cancer.   In this episode of #dead, we discuss Amy's intimidating floral Doc Martens, the impact of a terminal diagnosis, what it’s like to face mortality daily, and how Amy has chosen to thrive as an outlier.

Legacy

Pete McMaster’s legacy is his children. In this episode of #dead, Kristian McMaster, the youngest of Pete’s three boys, shares how his family responded to Pete’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2013. He details what it was like to make an international move with his young family in 2017 and what it took to stay close to his mom, brothers, and dad across an ocean and as Pete’s Alzheimer’s progressed. Ultimately, Kristian shares the moving and meaningful way he chose to honor Pete’s life at the time of his death in 2020 against the backdrop of a global pandemic. Watch Kristian's loving, creative, musical tribute here: https://www.amywrightco.com/post/raise-a-glass

Teddy

No one should know the pain of burying a child. Janet McGee does; in 2016, her 22-month old son, Teddy, tragically died in a furniture tip-over accident.   In this episode of #dead, Janet shares stories from her career as a mortician - including embalming her own grandmother, what it was like being on "the other side of the table" as a grieving mother, and how Teddy's death catalyzed her advocacy work.  Janet is the Founder & President of The LifTED, LLC & Co-Founder of Parents Against Tip Overs.  She’s also the Finance Director at Amy Wright & Co. and an OG Black Sheep. Enjoy our thick midwestern accents as we laugh about everything from frozen, handlebar boogers to the various colors of "dead spread."

Why?

This episode of #dead starts at the beginning with "Why?" Why me? Why now? Why this podcast?